2001 Botswana judicial reform referendum

A referendum on judicial reform was held in Botswana on 3 November 2001, having been originally scheduled for 6 October, but later postponed.^[1] The referendum asked eight separate questions about judges and courts, all of which were approved, seven by a margin of over 70%. Voter turnout for the referendum was just 4.9%, with 22,600 votes from a total of 460,252 registered voters.^[2] The postponement of the referendum by the government, a legal challenge by the Tswana nationalist group Pitso Ya Batswana, and a call by the group for a boycott were all suggested as reasons for the low turnout.^[3] Pitso Ya Batswana claimed that the referendum was an attempt by the BaKalanga ethnic group, who are over-represented in the judicial system, to increase their hold over it.^[3]

^ Botswana: 2001 Referendum Archived 2010-05-11 at the Wayback Machine EISA
^ Botswana: 2001 referendum African Elections Database
^ ^a ^b Botswana: Ethnic tensions on the rise IRIN, 8 November 2001

[1] Botswana: 2001 Referendum Archived 2010-05-11 at the Wayback Machine EISA

[AED-2] Botswana: 2001 referendum African Elections Database

[IRIN-3] Botswana: Ethnic tensions on the rise IRIN, 8 November 2001

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